Nolan stops Moicano in the third

Tom Nolan stops Renato Moicano by TKO at 1:28 of the third round. Referee Dan Miragliotta stopped it. The fight was Nolan’s first UFC main event, at UFC Fight Night at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday, October 31.

Nolan moves to 12-1, and Moicano, a former lightweight title challenger, falls to 21-8-1. Nolan landed 69 of 92 significant strikes, with one knockdown and one takedown, and Moicano landed 9 of 12, with three takedowns and 7:17 of control. Nolan finished it with punches and elbows to the head from half guard, and he earned Performance of the Night.

Moicano submitted Chris Duncan with a rear-naked choke at 3:14 of the second round on April 4, and Nolan beat Fares Ziam by unanimous decision at 5:00 of the third round on June 6.

Moicano answered an opening body kick with one of his own, then took Nolan down and moved to the back, hunting a rear-naked choke. Nolan stood, and Moicano stayed on the back before dragging him down again. In the second, Nolan landed a head kick and punches, Moicano took the back and locked a body triangle, and he could not finish the choke. Miragliotta stood them up. Nolan then dropped Moicano, landed a takedown, and nearly finished him before the horn. In the third, Nolan hurt Moicano early, Moicano scored another takedown, and Nolan swept to top position, and the referee waved it off.

The rest of the main card

Jacobe Smith beat Randy Brown by unanimous decision, 30-26 on all three cards, at 5:00 of the third round. Smith took the co-main on two weeks’ notice, and he stopped Bruce Whitehead by TKO at 1:32 of the first round at UFC 332 on October 3. Smith moves to 14-0, and Brown falls to 20-9. Smith landed leg kicks, then a takedown with 90 seconds left in the first, elbows opened a cut on Brown in the second, and a slam put Brown down in the third.

Cody Durden beat Ode’ Osbourne by unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, at 5:00 of the third round, and Durden and Osbourne fought at flyweight. Durden took Osbourne down early and had to pull his neck out of a guillotine. A body triangle and a Scottish twister followed, and Osbourne swept him to end the first, then Osbourne took the back in the third and could not finish a choke.

Luana Santos beat Yana Kunitskaya by unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, at 5:00 of the third round. It is Luana Santos’s 12th win, and the fourth in a row.

Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani beat Farman Hasanov by TKO at 2:11 of the third round, and a doctor stopped it after a cut across Hasanov’s left eyelid. Lebosnoyani moves to 12-2, and 3-0 in the UFC, and it is his first stoppage in the promotion. Hasanov came in unbeaten. A takedown in the second did not keep him there, and Lebosnoyani’s body kicks slowed him down. Dan Miragliotta called the doctor.

The main event was booked for five rounds, and the fights before it were three. The card story lists the start times for Las Vegas, London, and Sydney.